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EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell with Belgian defence minister Ludivine Dedonder in Brussels on Monday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

EU's Red Sea mission to be 'purely defensive', says Borrell

The EU's Red Sea naval mission will be purely defensive, unlike the US-led one, Europe has said, amid concern the US and Iran are heading for a direct clash.

"Aspidus: It's named after the ancient Greek word for shield. It's a shield to act in a purely defensive mode to defend merchant vessels ... it will not carry out any operations on land, only at sea," said EU foreign relations chief Josep Borrell in Brussels on Wednesday (31 January).

It will "not be participating in any ki...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell with Belgian defence minister Ludivine Dedonder in Brussels on Monday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.

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